Alert citizens assist police in apprehending alleged vehicle burglar

St. George Police vehicles | File photo by Kimberly Scott, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — A St. George man was allegedly caught in the act of burglarizing vehicles in a St. George neighborhood Sunday morning. While talking with police, the man reportedly took off running, initiating a police chase.

At approximately 7:40 a.m. Sunday, alert residents at Sunny Dale Park Condominiums on the 1100 North block of 1400 West called police to report a man looking in vehicles parked in the area, the St. George Police Department said in a statement Monday.

Officers responded to the area and located the suspect, later identified as 29-year-old Phillip James Jolley, inside a car that did not belong to him. Jolley allegedly told police the car belonged to his brother-in-law, but police were able to determine the car belonged to someone else.

While being questioned by police, Jolley allegedly gave officers a false name and false date of birth before taking off running, according to a probable cause statement filed by the St. George Police Department in support of the arrest.

“(Jolley) asked to throw a water bottle away in a nearby trash can,” the arresting officer wrote in a sworn statement. “I followed him and he began running. I yelled at him to stop multiple times and he kept running. I followed him for some distance.”

As Jolley ran from police, he allegedly jumped over a vinyl fence and damaged it, the officer stated. Officers were able to catch up to Jolley and apprehend him.

“Our officers pursued,” the Police Department said Monday, “and (Jolley) ran out of gas way before (officers) did.”

Inside the vehicle Jolley had been located in, officers recovered two credit cards that appeared to have been taken from another vehicle, along with electronics that had been stolen from a third vehicle in the area, according to the probable cause statement.

“Phillip (Jolley) admitted to checking car doors looking for change,” the arresting officer stated. “He also admitted that he had given me the wrong name because he thought he had a warrant.”

Jolley was arrested and booked into the Washington County Purgatory Correctional Facility.

The Washington County Attorney’s Office filed an information in 5th District Court accusing Jolley of third-degree felony unlawful acquisition of a finance card without consent, four class A misdemeanor counts of vehicle burglary and failure to stop at the command of law enforcement, two class B misdemeanor counts of theft and criminal mischief and one class C misdemeanor count of giving false personal identity to police.

As this report is published, Jolley remains in police custody and is expected to appear before 5th District Judge Jeffrey Wilcox for a hearing Monday afternoon.

Persons arrested or charged are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law or as otherwise decided by a trier-of-fact.

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About the Author

Kimberly Scott is a lifetime resident of Southern Utah. In 2013, Kimberly joined St. George News as a vital member of its editing, reporting and administrative team. She is passionate about engaging communities through writing and is dedicated to providing complete and accurate coverage of both anticipated and breaking news.